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Children's book writer, poet, home-schooling mom, cat herder. Author of There's A Yak In My Bed, Blooming Tree Press 2007
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This blog is on hiatus until further notice.
I'm writing and working and unpacking and homeschooling. No time for blogging. Might come back with something new and spiffy. Will let you know.
Toodle-loo for now. :)
To say this blog is stale, would be an understatement. I've been trying to figure out what I want to do with it, so am starting a new feature -- What I'm Reading.
Yesterday, we stopped at the library before heading out to the Gem and Mineral Show. I had intended to write while we traveled, but instead read one of my selected books,
Home Sweet Home School by Sue Maakestad. I was really hoping for more practical tips, but this book did have enough anecdotes in it to help me feel "normal" and not like a total failure. It is definitely from a conservative Christian perspective with lists of applicable scriptures after each chapter. Like a lot of books, I thought it could probably be condensed to a 1,000 word essay. :) It was mostly full of anecdotes about problems with public schools, the author's personal experiences, and of course, a lot of talk about putting Jesus in control. It seemed like a whole lot of talk about the same issues over, and over, and over. I did like the lists of encouraging Bible verse, but would have liked to have seen a lot more practical tips, hints, and examples about homeschooling. This is not the homeschooling tome for you if you are not a Christian, but if you are, you may find encouragement in its pages.
Last night, I began reading Crafting Stories for Children by Nancy Lamb. I've owned this book for about ten years. The cover is pristine, probably because it keeps getting lost in moves and has never been read. So far I'm finding it extremely useful for someone like me who cannot plot her way out of a paper bag. As I continue reading, I'll let you know more of what I think.
Speaking of contests, check this one out from ABLA agent Mary Kole.
Quite literally, that is - with a moving truck and burly packers and all that stuff. I've been here for a month, and even though I'm still maneuvering around six foot tall stacks of boxes, I'm determined to get back to the writing life. I had to give it up for several weeks before the Great Upheaval, but it's time to get back with it.
In my usual high tension last minute fashion, I'm working on a story for the Highlights Magazine Contest. Yeah, I really work well under pressure. Really.
Because on top of boxes, and writing, and trying to figure out where to put stuff, I homeschool.
Oh yeah. So I'll try to be a little more regular with the excitement around here.
Off to work on that short story.
Yes, there has been progress! I'm about a 1/3 of the way through a chapter book. When I get stuck on a big project, I often switch to a smaller one, sometimes a much smaller one such as a poem or very short story. Why? 1. sometimes switching genres .. say from a mg novel to a short funny poem dekinks my brain 2. When I feel frustrated over not being able to work through a story point, I can be encouraged by working out something smaller. "See you did THAT, now go do the other." Maybe it's something like doing Soduku puzzles to exercise your brain before you tackle quantum physics or something.
This afternoon I'll be meeting with my local critique group. It's been awhile since all five of us could be together.
You know the drill. I give you two unrelated words or phrases to be used as a writing prompt.
blood on your tongue
quilt batting
Um yes, I am fiddling with the blog layout/colors. And no, no, noooooooo...it's not a way to procrastinate. Of COURSE not!
Since it's Monday, I chose procrastination as the topic for Deep Thought Sunday. Here's a gem from Will Rogers:
"Even if you're on the right track -
you'll get run over if you just sit there."
Will Rogers
Okay, so it's Monday .. but Saturday was a HOLIDAY ! The temporary seasonal day job ended on Thursdays, so I'm back to writing. I've been doing some 'crafty' stuff lately .. reading and outlining chapter books and fiddling with fairy tales in an attempt to improve my plotting ability. And of course that all led into another project.
Also I'm working on focusing on one thing at a time, writing wise - choosing one writing task and making that the goal for the day. Yeah, I'm a little scattered, ADD, whoopsie-brained, that's for sure. The same method has been working on the gardens. Each morning I decided which part of the garden I want to work on, and I limit myself to just that spot. I know .... this probably seems so simple to other people.
Even though I'm also prepping a house to put on the market, I hope that I'll have more writing time in the day, and that my Saturday progress reports will be more exciting.
Here is Don McLean singing Starry Starry Night, the theme song of my youth.
Happy Monday!
Formerly known as Juxtaposition Friday.
I give you two seemingly unrelated things as a writing prompt. You write something using both images. Have fun!
a nursing home
a watermelon seed
Some people ask me how I come up with these. Both of the above came to me when I thought of the word independence.
I've posted a Lisa Hannigan video once before, but this one is even more magical with accompanying music being pinged out on glassware on the beachside table. Enjoy Splishy-Splashy.
Happy Monday.
I have never had so many good ideas day after day as when I worked in the garden. John Erskine.
Not a lot of writing on THE project, but some fiddling around with plot exercises and playing with writing ending lines. Seasonal day job lasts another week. Decided to drop the themes on the blog for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Working on cutting the message board addiction. Stayed off my three most visited sites for over six days, then visited each for under ten minutes a piece. Have vowed to only visit message boards on Saturday. Canceled my Twitter account. Facebook is my only remaining vice.
Okay, so it's Sunday. But still ... I'm catching up.
This is a writing prompt wherein I throw out two seemingly unrelated words or phrases and you write something which includes both things.
eye of a potato
eye of a needle
Have fun!
One rough crit. One meh rejection. One misguided comment. Any of these can bring a writer's work to a screeching halt. It's funny how one opinion -- ONE --- OPINION --- can totally change perspective.
Yesterday, on a rare trip to the mall, I stopped by the Stinky Bath Stuff store. I rarely buy this kind of stuff, but it was deeply discounted, and for some reason I do like scent when I'm stressed. I strolled around the store and sniffed. Usually I prefer to smell like produce, choosing scents like orange and cucumber. But this time I was entranced by the big five dollar bottles of Sandalwood Rose lotion and body wash labeled STRESS RELIEF. I sniffed. Ahhh. Heaven. A whiff of home mixed with a whiff of someplace exotic which promised peace and tranquility. I continued browsing, while occasionally popping the top of the bottle to take a whiff of paradise. I made my selections, checked out, and walked away quite pleased that I had gotten the GOOD stuff for considerably less than my usual drug store brands. I met up with my husband and the progeny, and still excited about my buys, I handed the bottle of Sandalwood Rose to my husband and said, "Here, sniff."
He sniffed. He recoiled and made some kind of snuffly ewww-y noise. I was crestfallen. "You don't like it?" I asked. He shook his head no.
And then instantly, as quickly as I had fallen in love with the scent, I decided it reeked. It was too strong, too terrible, and it gave me a headache.
This is what we do sometimes with our writing. We love it. We think it's crafted well. It's all good. And then one opinion changes that. What we thought smelled divine, now reeks like garbage.
When this happens, you have to do what I did with my big ol' green glass bottle of Sandalwood Rose. You go off by yourself and sniff again. Maybe you did over romanticize it, maybe you didn't see the flaws. Maybe it is a mite heavy in the scent department, and you should only put it on your ankles. Or maybe after taking another sniff, you can smell what's right with it again.
Input from others is important, but you have to sniff that out as well. Don't let one comment, one opinion, make you turn away from that which you know is good.
This is one of my favorite Lyle Lovett tunes. Lyle sang it right after they shot Hunter Thompson's ashes out of the canon.
Even when the song is sad, listening to Lyle always makes me happy. I kinda plan to sing this when I load up the moving van next time. Or maybe I should sing "This Traveling Around Will be the Death of Me."
Yes, I realize I'm cheating at blogging by calling a quote, a music video, or a photo a blog entry. But the way I figure, it' s like those magnetic signs outside churches or liquor stores with pithy sayings on them. Sure the message is short, but it gets your attention and maybe makes people smile. More importantly, it's a glimpse into who or whatever put up the sign, and gives you a hint as to what may be inside.
Well, I've managed to get a blog entry up every day! But since I've been working on my temporary, seasonal, part time day job this week .. there's not much to report on the writing front.
Still working on one mg with another nipping at my toes or brain or something. It's haunting me, poking me, trying to get my attention.
I haven't done one of these in a long while. On Juxtaposition Friday, I present you with two seemingly unrelated words, images, or pictures, and then leave you to your own devices as to how to work these TWO things into one whole something or another. Have fun!
Here are your two things for today:
1. A tattered pink ribbon
2. An abandoned fishing boat
I leave you with this image to be used as a writing prompt or a smile and a giggle if you need one. Haven't we all felt like that little fellow on the end before?
A picture is worth a thousand words or in other words (far less than a thousand) I don't have time to blog today, so groove on the quote.
There is no real reason for this entry except that I thought the whole blog was pretty bland without pictures. This is a view of the Texas Hill Country from about halfway up Enchanted Rock. Everyone has magical places to which they long to return. This is one of mine.
On Tuesdays I bring tips for folks who are just getting their toes wet into the world of writing for kids. Warning: I'm pretty straight forward, and the advice given here is short and to the point. This isn't the Fuzzy Bunny Sunshine School of Kiddy Lit. This is the truth.
This morning I'd like to talk about picture books. It seems like everybody wants to write a picture book, especially since there is a misconception that they are so easy. They aren't. It's more like trying to paint on the head of a pin. Just because the books are short and small and cute, doesn't mean they're easy to do.
Today I want to focus on one problem I often see with beginning picture book writers, and that is the tendency to write the book of yesteryear. And for those of us who remember life before MTV, yesteryear is getting a little moldy and tarnished.
I often run into beginning writers who write very long picture books, over 1000 words. Sometimes these stories don't have a strong plot or storyline; they are quiet books. Often they aren't kid centric; a parent or other adult figure solves the problem. In addition, these stories tend to be description heavy. And when new writers ask for critique and people point these things out to them, the first response is often, "Well, it's LIKE (insert name of old classic picture book here.)
Okay, I know styles in everything change and tend to be cyclical. But whether you are making stories or bicycles or dinner dishes, if you want to sell the things you make, it is wise to keep up with the fashion of the day.
New writers are bombarded with the advice to read, read, read, and I will add to that: especially concentrate on reading picture books which came out in the last five years. Look for bestsellers, ones with starred reviews, and ones which have received awards.
The world of children's books is always changing, and over the decades picture books have become more clearly defined. The picture books of yesteryear wouldn't necessarily be picture books by today's standards.
If you wanted to make dresses and sell them in today's marketplace, you probably wouldn't use fifty year old patterns. Sure, some people would love them and you'd have a niche market. But if you wanted to sell to a broader market, you'd need to keep up with what is selling in current times. The same thing holds true with picture books.
Tune in next Tuesday for more newbie tips.
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By: Lill Pluta,
on 4/5/2010
A picture is worth a thousand words or in other words (far less than a thousand) I don't have time to blog today, so groove on the quote. 
There is no real reason for this entry except that I thought the whole blog was pretty bland without pictures. This is a view of the Texas Hill Country from about halfway up Enchanted Rock. Everyone has magical places to which they long to return. This is one of mine.
I'm interested in hearing more about the Nancy Lamb. I never tire of writing books, though I've not read many lately.
Best wishes to you on the home schooling. I can imagine it's difficult (though I hope rewarding!)